A Blank Page
by Janet Fraiser
Summary: Voyager Books, a large and imposing bookstore owned by Starfleet Incorporated, comes to Delta and not everyone is pleased. A locally-owned small bookstore, The Val Jean, never stood a chance and the owner pays a visit to the woman in charge. ((AU story inspired by a prompt on tumblr))


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing recognizable and if I did, well, things would've happened differently from the very beginning.

**Author's Note: **This is my first attempt at an AU and I sincerely hope it's at least semi-believable. My muse is having fun playing with the characters outside of their normal setting, though, so I'm not sure what'll happen from here. Written as a gift for lodessa, this was supposed to be a simple one-shot ficlet but my muse got entirely too enthusiastic and decided to really run with the prompt (the rating may or may not change as the story progresses). This is unbeta'd so all mistakes are, as always, my own.

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"Do you work here?"

The unexpected voice startles the petite woman and she swears under her breath as she drops the stack of books she's carrying. _Persuasion_ and _Great Expectations_ go one way, _Moby Dick_ goes another, and it's only by luck that she manages to catch _La Vita Nuova_ before it hits the floor. Tossing a disgruntled glare over her shoulder at the customer smiling sheepishly as he picks up two wayward books, Kathryn Janeway snags _Moby Dick_ from it's hiding place under a shelf and turns to face the cause of the chaos as she stacks the hardbound book on top of _La Vita Nuova_.

"I do work here," she confirms, holding her free hand out for the books the man is holding. He passes them over and she tucks them under her arm, lifting an eyebrow. "Is there something I can help you find?"

"I'm looking for the supervisor on duty," the man says.

"You're in luck," she replies, flashing her best 'customer service' smile. "I'm the store manager. What can I do for you?"

The man's eyes, dark and expressive, widen slightly but he recovers quickly and says, "I own the bookstore three blocks over and was hoping I could talk to you."

_Ah crap_, Kathryn thinks. _Trouble with the locals already and it's only our first week open_.

Tilting her head toward the front register area, she says, "Would you mind walking with me for a moment? I have to drop these off for a customer pick-up but then I'm free to talk."

He follows her up to the register and stands back as she hands the books over to her newest hire, Kes. Young and inexperienced in the ways of the world, this is Kes's first job but Kathryn's confident she'll do well; she's got that bright-eyed excitement that's hard to find in a seasoned worker. Telling Kes to hold the books and to gift wrap them before the customer comes, Kathryn smiles and turns to the local store owner.

"I have an hour for lunch," she says, glancing at her watch. "Would you mind if we talked in the Starbucks? It's been a long day and I need a coffee."

"Sounds great," he says, returning her smile with a pleasant one of his own. Kathryn tries valiantly to ignore the deep dimples that appear with the smile but she's not entirely successful and it takes a concerted effort on her part to turn and walk away. They're stopped a few times by customers with questions and she's truly looking forward to her coffee when they finally get to the Starbucks attached to her store.

The barista knows her order by heart - making the same order ten times a day tends to make the information stick - and has her coffee (black, of course) ready by the time they reach the counter. Kathryn throws Neelix a grateful smile and takes a careful sip as her companion orders a coffee with cream and sugar. She's careful to hide her grimace behind her cup but she suspects the man sees it because he chuckles as he watches Neelix scurry around to fill his order. Looking around, she spots an open table by the window and motions to it; the man nods and Kathryn heads over to get off her feet. The steady flow of people outside the window catches her attention and she loses herself in watching them while she waits, her thoughts a jumbled mess of what she's got left to do before the weekend is up.

"The barista is an odd fellow, isn't he?"

She looks up as the man sits across from her, coffee in hand. Laughing, she nods and rolls her eyes.

"He is, but he came with the territory and he makes an excellent coffee. Just don't let him convince you to try his new healthy smoothie, some horrid concoction he calls a 'leola root shake'. It's atrocious."

"Noted," he replies, laughing. "I'm Chakotay, by the way."

"Kathryn Janeway," she says, smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise, though I wish our meeting was under different circumstances."

Nodding, Kathryn takes a drink and then tilts her head and says, "So what brings you by Voyager Books?"

"I owned a bookstore, The Val Jean, just down the road and I thought I'd come by and see the store that put me out of business," he says. "I fought long and hard to keep this place from coming in but there wasn't much I could do, being a small business in a town that needs the revenue a large corporation brings in."

"You're the one who picketed our groundbreaking," Kathryn breathes, her grip on her coffee tightening. "I heard that you fought as hard as you could but that our parent company went through the courts to get you shut down." Leaning forward, she shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Mister Chakotay. Starfleet Incorporated is ruthless once they set their sights on a goal and I'm afraid your store was an inconvenience to them."

Chakotay huffs and looks out the window, giving Kathryn time to study the intricate tattoo above his left eye. When he turns back to look at her, his face is serious and she can feel his anger from across the table.

"The Val Jean was my life," he says quietly. "I put my blood, sweat, and tears into making it past the first year and when I had a steady customer base, I worked hard to keep the community benefiting from my store. We had children's storytime, tutoring for all ages, GED classes for adults wanting to better themselves; I care about this town, ma'am. I'm from this town, born and raised, and I took care of my community. Voyager Books came and took that away from the people of Delta. You don't care who you step on to get every single cent you can scrape out of the good people of this town."

"Now wait just a second," Kathryn says, holding up a hand as she shakes her head emphatically. "We're not money-hungry giants,. Voyager is part of a corporation, yes, but I'm working hard to get the community involved in our success. We've got storytime for the children twice a week and we offer a variety of courses in our classrooms upstairs. We have locals scheduled to come in and teach various crafts and I just spoke with one of my employees about setting up a bookmobile to go around to the local schools."

Chakotay sits back, his dark gaze intense enough to make Kathryn feel two inches tall. When she can't stand the scrutiny, she breaks eye contact and takes a drink of her coffee.

"Why Delta?"

"Because Delta's mayor offered us an unbeatable deal on the land," she says, shrugging. "Jack Caretaker, the man in charge of development and store placement, made the choice to bring Voyager here and here we are." She bites her lip and looks up at Chakotay again, quirking an eyebrow as an idea comes to her. "You know, I don't have an assistant manager. My last one walked out on me in the middle of opening day."

"And what, you want me to come work for you?" he asks, incredulous. Kathryn shrugs nonchalantly.

"Who better to help me make the connection with locals than a local? I need someone to oversee community interactions and make this place run a little smoother; you've got the business experience so this should be simple."

"You're serious," he says, his eyes wide again. She nods and takes a sip of her coffee before answering.

"I'm very serious, Chakotay. I could use your talents around here, not to mention your perseverance and dedication."

"This isn't what I expected," he says as he stands, looking down at Kathryn with bewilderment on his face. Kathryn stands too and pulls a business card out of the back pocket of her slacks. She scribbles her cell number on it and hands it over to the flustered man.

"Think about it and call me. That's my cell and I'm available any time."

Chakotay looks between the business card and her face a few times before sighing and shaking his head, but he puts the card in his pocket and runs his hand through his hair.

"I just . . . I don't know. I have to think," he sighs and Kathryn chuckles.

"I'd be surprised if you didn't. Just give my offer fair consideration and let me know."

She walks him to the front door and watches as he steps into the crowd, blending into the sea of faces. Her mind is replaying their conversation when she hears someone clear their throat behind her. Recognizing the sound, she turns and smiles.

"Punctual as always, Tuvok. Here to relieve me already?" she asks, drinking the last of her coffee as she smiles at her old friend and head of Voyager's security management team.

"Indeed," the stoic man replies. "Anything of interest to report from the day thus far?"

"Not a thing," she says, glancing over her shoulder in the general direction Chakotay went. "Not a thing."


End file.
